News Archive
2004-2008
Search feature: I've added a basic search feature, accessible via the appropriate link on the homepage. At present, a full text search engine is not being considered due to the resources it would consume. Please report any problems and/or issues via the feedback form. (3/22/08)
Abuse of the feedback system: To reiterate, using the feedback system for anything other than its intended purpose may result in either a temporary or permanent ban from the GFA. Submissions are accepted or rejected at the discretion of the administrator viewing them, and are not open for debate. (3/20/08)
New admins: Just a quick note to say that I have recruited Ricky Williams, Drunky and Dragon over from MBH Shield as co-administrators of the GFA, who will assist me primarily in processing the queue. I'm no longer looking for any more help at this time. :) (3/16/08)
Updated!: As you can probably see, the GFA's hiatus has at last come to an end, with over 700 submissions processed over the past couple of days. Unfortunately, my schedule and commitments have largely prohibited me from updating the site over the past six months, but I have now been able to take some time out from my Spring break in order to fully zero the queues.
Unfortunately, I will not be able to keep this up (although I do plan to spend more time on the site), which leads me to the GFA's future. I have received several offers in regards to takeover plans for the site, one of which I previously accepted from the guys over at MBH Shield. It is with some regret, however, that I announce here that I have had a change of heart, which I must apologise wholeheartedly for, and thank them for their time and offer. Instead, I want the GFA to remain in my control, whilst at the same time I'll still be open to offers for help in its administration and processing the queue. If you'd like to apply to help out, please file a feedback ticket with your contact information.
Whilst I don't expect you to write an essay or whatnot, it'd be good if you could at least briefly let me know why you want to help and how you think you could assist. This will of course be unpaid, purely voluntary work, and all applications, whether successful or not, will be greatly appreciated.
Lastly, my topic on GameFAQs to request an account password has purged, and I'm afraid I'll have to ask those who didn't receive a response to go through the registration system on here again and follow the link to the new topic if their name is taken. (3/13/08)
Short Break: Just a heads-up that I'm taking a few days off from GFA-related "work" this week, having updated the site every day in the past month. I'm also going to be on vacation between the 28th and 31st; I aim to fully zero the queues before I leave. (8/21/07)
GameFAQs Spinoffs Archive: It was inevitable; the GFA has its own first official spinoff - the
GameFAQs Spinoffs Archive. This project will primarily be administrated by
miikrr, with myself helping to process the queue but having little to do with adding new files. If you have any files from GameFAQs' numerous spinoffs you'd like to submit, please do so on the Spinoffs Archive in the same manner you do here: the user databases are merged, so there is no need to register an additional account. (8/15/07)
Extended Downtime: My apologies for the twenty-four hour downtime yesterday; it annoyed me as much as anyone else. Bihira, my webhost, has offered the following explanation:
There was a twenty four hour downtime between 2:00 A.M. (GMT) to 2:00 A.M. (GMT) on August 11, 2007 and August 12, 2007.
During this time ModernBill automatically sent a command to cPanel to terminate a web hosting package for non-payment. However, cPanel didn�t properly remove all subdomains which created a problem in the apache configuration file. Thus apache was not able to restart after the removal of the web hosting package. To fix this issue we repaired the apache configuration file and restarted apache. We apologize for any downtime.
This outage was paired with another problem. We are working in a temporary office when a theft occurred. However, only a few of our equipment was stolen but all the computers were locked up and couldn�t be stolen. This theft hampered our ability to efficiently run our office for the day and we were not able to fix apache configuration file error until now. For anyone worried about their information being stolen, we take great strides in protecting our member�s information. All members� information that is stored on any computer (which isn�t a lot to begin with) is securely encrypted, locked, and hidden and checked on a random regular basis for security measures.
If any member has any other questions, please feel free to respond. Again, we apologize for this downtime and are taking strides to ensure it will not happen again. (8/12/07)
Feedback Required: With another free day coming up tomorrow, I'll be looking to add additional user features and pages to the site. If you have any ideas, please send them in via the feedback form for consideration. Thanks! (8/9/07)
Your submissions; feedback.: If you haven't already noticed, you can access your submissions (at least since the launch of the user system) via the appropriate link on the navigation bar. From the list in tabular format, if you click the ID of the submission on the left-hand side, you can view the details of your submission: if it has been rejected, there should be an explanation under "Admin Notes". Eventually, I'll update this page to allow you to update your submission whilst it is still in the queue in the event of error or suchlike.
In other news, I'm working on making the feedback system into a two-way ticket communication system; similar to GameFAQs - this should be launched later tonight/early tomorrow. (8/9/07)
GFA - Official Re-Opening: Having completed the skeleton user account system and overhauled the back-end, I'm now ready to re-open (and re-advertise) the GFA to the public. At the moment, your user page and preferences will return 404 errors; these have yet to have been built. In order to ensure that account security is not compromised, if you attempt to register using a name you have previously submitted files under, you are asked to confirm your identity in a topic on GameFAQs - after which point, a password will be emailed to you. My apologies for complicating this, but I feel that it is a fair and secure way of verifying the authenticity of accounts.
Please read the announcements below pertaining to some files having backslashes being omitted - I'd really appreciate resubmissions of these wherever possible. At the moment, there have been no "noteworthy" pages defined, as I've reset them due to a previous error, and will be manually redefining them at some point. In the meantime, please register and enjoy your stay at the new, and improved, GFA! (8/8/07)
Where Things Stand: I've successfully uploaded the backup database, and updated the "multilink" pages so they are now part of the database, and no longer yield the nasty "hacked" messages. On a slightly less positive note, around 150 files are slightly corrupt; in that they have accidentally been stripped of backslashes. This, for the most part, shouldn't be a problem: apart from in ASCII art files, where the backslash character is actually used frequently. This should only affect files with an ID between 1345 and 1450 and their "multiple page links", so if you notice any issues with ASCII art or missing backslashes, please let me know via feedback and re-submit wherever possible (once submissions are opened).
Elsewhere, you may encounter problems with slashes appearing or disappearing which may mess up the style and layout of pages: please inform me of these, as they are reversible (unlike IDs 1345 through 1450). Thanks for your patience and co-operation at this time! (8/7/07)
Queue Processed!: The queue is fully processed of all 385 items for the first time since April 2006; registration/submission will be opened tomorrow or Sunday after some minor backend work. (8/4/07)
It's Happening!: I'm finally in the process of updating the GFA significantly. I have restructured and re-programmed most of the backend, and the user registration/login system has been successfully created (though disabled until the current queue is cleared). I am dedicating all of tomorrow to get all submissions processed, at which point I'll open up registration and devise a strategy for people to have their existing submissions transferred to their new accounts. (8/2/07)
Hindrances to Development: To those who are continuing to troll using the feedback system without even leaving a name, allow me to re-iterate: if you are not satisfied with my current situation and length of the backlog - leave or shut up. Argumentum ad misericordiam will unfortunately not wash with me; believe it or not, I actually have a life to concentrate on outside of this website, and will _not_ be guilt-tripped into spending more time working on it, as I have priorities and commitments elsewhere. If my "inefficiency" here is of annoyance to you, then by all means feel free to either leave or attempt to run your own archive website.
It should go without saying: the time I spend on the GFA is purely voluntary - I have put many, many hours into the site over the past four years, all without compensation other than personal satisfaction at providing a service to users of the GameFAQs message boards. Unfortunately, I can no longer put hours into the site on a daily or weekly basis: if you cannot deal with this, I'm afraid you have little alternative other than to shut up and deal with it, or take a permanent vacation from the site.
This message does _not_ extend to those offering to help the site out; I thoroughly appreciate the offers and will reply to these in due course. In closing, bitching and moaning about the GFA will get you absolutely nowhere: I am under no obligation to update the website on a frequent basis, and will continue to fulfill other commitments that quite frankly obviously come first. To be honest, I cam extremely close to completely shutting this site down due to those who seem intent on criticising every decision I make, but decided against it, so that the site can be continually enjoyed by old and new users alike. I suggest that the one person in particular who has left several feedback messages, posing under different aliases take this comment onboard, or you _will_ find yourself banned from submitting feedback and ultimately even viewing the GFA.
This is in no way meant to discourage user submissions, as they are wholeheartedly welcomed and will always be added to the site, even if it is seemingly on a sporadic basis. I have a test environment running for the new system and this will be tweaked over the next few weeks. User submissions will hopefully be reopened tomorrow. (4/23/07)
A brief status update: I believe I've created a successful workaround for inconsistency in escaped data, as first pointed out by RockMFR. Please let me know if this is not the case, or if you come across any anomalies (I'm pretty sure there'll be a handful). I've temporarily disabled user submissions, which is strongly linked to the development of the new system. Though it's taking longer than expecting, I hope to have a test environment going out by the end of this week; going live the week after. (4/14/07)
Lost Facts Beta: To coincide with the creation of the new GFA user system - which is approximately two weeks away from completion - I have rewritten the source code for Lost Facts: my GameFAQs spinoff message boards. When this site's code is completed, I hope to implement integration of the two source codes within one another - allowing the two to effectively operate as one large, interactive website. In the meantime, I am opening up the boards for a period of beta testing; they can be accessed
here. I have created a board on the site dedicated to GFA-related discussion, which allows for a much greater level of user interaction than with the current feedback system. I will also be keeping a record of submissions and progress related to the new system. Feel free to sign up, post, and assist with the current testing. (2/18/07)
User registration: I have just completed the initial step towards implementing a full contributor registration system, which will, as previously stated, allow for more personalised options and features to be programmed in the GFA. I have designed a script which has automatically created contributor accounts for all of those who have submitted files to the site already. As you can probably imagine, however, the potential for users abusing the new system by "stealing" the accounts of others is fairly high. As a result, I have created a topic on GameFAQs, designed to provide a secondary layer of security. Effective immediately, you may post in
this topic to confirm your identity, and to provide a valid email address so that a password may be sent to you.
Whilst the user account system will not be online for up to two weeks now, you can prepare yourself effectively for the transition by confirming your identity in the above GameFAQs topic in the meantime. Thanks, and my apologies for any inconvenience caused: I promise it'll be worth it in the long run. :) (1/30/07)
Culture/Noteworthy pages mix-up: For an unknown reason, all recently-added files are being determined by the system to be noteworthy. Whilst I work on fixing this error and manually correct existing files, please use the "Full" archive link if you aren't already doing so. Edit: well that was bloody easy to fix in terms of programming, it's annoying I've only caught onto it this late though, as a number of pages were erroneously being labelled "culture" and "noteworthy", when it should be the other way around. I'll fix these files up later tomorrow. (1/30/07)
Lack of Updates: You may have noticed a lack of updates in the last 24 hours, and consequently began fretting, given that there have been long periods of time when the site has gone without updates. However, there is no need to panic just yet. Today I have been modifying and tweaking the GameFAQs v8 style of Ant P's GFCSS, with the goal of creating a thoroughly accurate recreation of GameFAQs' "Classic" view. Whilst the code is a jumble at present, I'd estimate that I'm around 65% towards completion, and I'll be sure to release said version as soon as it's fully finished. (1/21/07)
Site Live, Known Bugs: I have officially reopened the GameFAQs Archive to the public, so if you weren't one of those who stumbled across the URL a couple of weeks ago, welcome back! I'd recommend reading the previous news article for an idea as to the direction we're going in. The "contributor accounts" system is still being looked into, and there are a few known bugs present: most significantly, the multilink "special" pages are not functional, due in part to a previous hacking of Bihira and an overhaul of how the pages are stored. That said, any dead links, typos, poor-quality pages etc. should be reported via the Feedback form. Thanks, and enjoy. (1/14/07)
Moderator/Editor Applications: When user accounts are launched, I will be opening up applications for GFA moderators and editors. In the past, Insder and I have been decidedly stubborn in the selection (or lack thereof) of additional staff members. However, if the site is to remain fresh and constantly updated, then I have to concede that extra help will be required. Being a moderator will consist of handling particular file and link submissions; whilst an editor will specialise primarily in editing existing content/descriptions, in order to improve the quality of the site. Applications will take the form of a short essay-style question; an excellent command of the English language is necessary, as too is at least rudimentary understanding of HTML. Priority will most likely be granted to the profilic contributors of the site.
In other news, I may introduce Google AdSense advertising to the homepage of the site, in order to try to recuperate some of the money which has gone towards the domain name and hosting. They will, of course, be optional to registered users. (12/31/06)
Contributor accounts, new features.: Over the next few weeks, before the site is officially "opened" to the public (though some may stumble across it beforehand), I will be working on implementing a user registration system, which will: allow users to view their submissions, their status and the reasons (if any given) for rejection; make it possible for us to run contests for profilic contributors; and will also allow us to introduce additional features such as a more detailed contributor recognition system, and user profiles. Prioritisation will also be introduced to the queue, which will work similar to GameFAQs' MMA: those with a higher submission acceptance ratio will have their submissions processed first. Obviously, as contributor accounts currently do not exist, we will have to look at ways of ensuring users can "transfer" their contributions to their appropriate user accounts. Watch this space for more details. -Chris (12/31/06)
The GameFAQs Archive is back!: Hello, and welcome back to the GFA! After a sixth-month hiatus, and lack of updates in eighteen months: we have finally returned. As you're probably aware, the site can now be accessed at the domain
www.gamefaqsarchive.com; I will speak to Insder to try to redirect the old URL to this address. In the meantime, please watch this space for news on developments and updates to the site interface and features. I have processed all outstanding (450+!) submissions; and all original files remain. Enjoy! -Chris "Roaddhogg" Mawson. (12/29/06)
Work still continues.: I have reuploaded the index, because progress is going slower than first expected. Regardless, watch this space for further developments. (6/1/06)
Major upate coming soon!: At long last, a major update shall be coming to the GFA. Watch this space for further details over the coming fortnight. (4/24/06)
Yeah..sorry.: Roaddhogg is somewhere, I'm still doing stuff. thegfa.info expired, anyone who wants to paypal the money for godaddy, be my guest. I cleared some rejected submissions today, dropped count below 300 mark for the first time. Hopefully I can break 200 by this weekend. (9/23/05)
I'm not dead. Yet, at least.: Just finished paying up for insder.com domain for another year, so it's not dead. Yes, I exist, I haven't given up on GFA. I've spoken to Roaddhogg and hope to be working on submissions soon enough. This site will become what it was, and hopefully better. I have read the feedback and will consider whatever is in it. At the moment, I believe I can handle submissions myself. What can you guys do for me? Put http://thegfa.info in your signatures, everywhere. It's back in action. I'm following through. Thanks~Insder (7/2/05)
Announcement in regards to the future of the GFA: The GFA has received no significant updates in nearly a month. This has been reflected in falling traffic, contributions and feedback; and quite rightly so - my patience would be wearing thin if I was a large contributor or frequent visitor to the site, and then seeing that day after day no work has seemingly been carried out by its administrative team.
I have made promises, commitments and guarantees in the past regarding this site and its maintenance; which I intended to keep but have fallen flat on all fronts. I can no longer promise daily, weekly, or even bi-monthly updates to be made in processing the queue and detailing with issues.
My life has become hectic, and the work that needs to be done here insurmountable. I've done a lot of thinking, and now have several options of what to do in regards to the GFA, in order to keep the site online but allow me to have an active social life. The outcome, no matter what I choose, will certainly not be ideal; but I want to see this site remain online as I'm sure the rest of you do. Watch this space. (6/1/05)
Exams: Yet again, there have been few updates over the past week or so. As it seems I'm effectively the only person running the site at the moment, as Insder has his own commitments to fulfill (not that I'm complaining - as I'd prefer for the site to be run by two people maximum), you'll just have to respect my lack of major updates for a week or two. I have exams on the horizon, and have to dedicate my time to revising for them. I will of couse be able to update in small quantities, but this has been nigh-on impossible as every night without fail I have been in school until at least 6.30PM; leaving me with little time to actually lead my life, nevermind browse the web. Thanks for your patience. (5/13/05)
GFA Update: The switch to the new GFA system is now complete. The site is now much more secure and efficient; thanks to a backend coding overhaul. Also implemented is the categorising of content, into either "Noteworthy" or "Culture" sections. The view of the Archive is set to "Full" by default - though this can be changed by using the appropriate links on the homepage (cookies must be enabled). All that remains is for the administrative system to be updated; though that will not affect your own use of the GFA. Apologies for the previous downtime; this was caused by the switching of insder.com to its own unique IP address. (4/29/05)
'What happened to my file?!': I have just deleted 124 files from the archive; for quality control reasons previously disclosed. I have actually been relatively lenient on a number of questionable pages; but it's probable that I may have missed a significant amount of completely inane submissions. If you could draw my attention to these via Feedback, I'd be much obliged.
In other news, the Archive is undergoing a complete coding rehaul; partially to fit in with the new "split" - but also for speed, optimisation and security purposes. Nothing you need to worry about, as this will all occur behind the scenes. As a rough approximation, I hope to have it live by the end of the week. (4/25/05)
Ouch.: I just killed my regular Sunday schedule to sort through the 300 file-strong queue in its entirety. Disappointing that approximately 75% of submissions were rejected; but I am finally on top of things. Next weekend, files will be prioritised and the site's split will most likely occur [See News Archive]. We have raised $25 thus far in donations, many thanks to those who reached into their pockets for the good of the GFA :) (4/24/05)
Archive to be "split": Following recent feedback regarding my previous announcement, the archive will be "split" into two sections: a "Culture" one that will consist of humourous and/or interesting - although perhaps not-so-significant - topics; and a "Noteworthy" one that will contain important events and such. There is no need to worry though, if you don't like this change. The default view will be set to "Noteworthy", although it will be possible to adjust and save your preferences to either view the full archive, or one of the two sections.
Please note that this is not a compromise on my previous statement. Inane crap will be deleted from the archive, and future submissions deemed not to be worthy of being added to either section rejected. Major thanks to Exiledfromreality for this idea. (4/2/05)
Enough of the bullshit: Roaddhogg here. As you're probably aware, our backlog is now in excess of 200 pages. I made a promise, at the start of the New Year; one which I intended to keep. I stated to you all that I would dedicate more time to the GFA to handle submissions, create/edit features and whatnot, and yet I have failed myself and I have failed you.
The Archive has degenerated to such a point I am unable to defend any longer. Due to a major miscommunication, and of no fault of the other administrators here, the GFA has strayed from its original purpose of being a storage space for noteworthy and important events, to a collection of generally "humourous" or completely random messages.
Pages that are simply a part of everyday GameFAQs activities, such as "OMG HOW BIG IS UR WANG OLOLOLZ" will no be accepted; as it was in the past and should have been throughout. By next week, we intend to have restored a decent level of order on the Archive, with totally inane and useless pages being erased. By all means continue submitting files you have; but please do ensure that they hold at least some level of significance rather than just ridiculous fads.
In return, I will attempt to make up for my own failure. Despite other commitments and no monetary compensation for any of us working here; working on the GFA is fun when we're on top of things. Please heed this advice, and I hope for your support in the matter. Thanks for reading.
(4/1/05)
Well: I've recieved all the files and I can, and thus I don't need to get anyone giving me files anymore (The CJayC ones I mean). They're in a zip on this site, but linking to them is a bad plan. You should be able to find them. In other news, I have until 4/2/2005 to fix mistakes before their date becomes correct and they get lost in the mix of submissions, never to be fixed. So expect that done when I get a free day.-Insder (3/9/05)
Contributor Pages!: Finally inspired to code them, I managed to complete the PHP within half an hour with relatively few problems. The submitter of a file is now hyperlinked; simply click their name to view their contributor page. In addition to this, I have set up a "Top Contributors" file, which can be accessed via the menu. Enjoy. (2/13/05)
Current Backlog: The link is in the menu bar. Use it to either track your own submissions, or to view those awaiting process in the queue. (2/11/05)
Lost Facts Beta: Roaddhogg, co-owner and operator of the GFA, has created new source message boards through PHP. You may access them via http://lf.insder.com. There is a board there dedicated to talking about the GFA, which is better than our feedback system in leaps and bounds. He hopes you all enjoy.~Insder (2/10/05)
Bugs, Errors, nonworking pages!: You've been submitting the stuff in the title in feedback for a long time. Well now, I'll actually listen. Please try and send feedback with as many bugs/errors/nonworking things as possible (in one feedback message preferably). I'll try to get it all ironed/straightened out as I get them. Go!-Insder (2/7/05)
Queue Processed.: The queue has been fully processed (albeit a few images I may reject), and you may begin your submissions again with no complaints for our staff, as we are ready/willing to handle them. Thanks-Insder (2/3/05)
New thingy: I took a minute or so of my time to make a
news archive for all the GFAers. Now you can see more than three news posts.-Insder (2/2/05)
Mistakes: You may see some mistakes on GFA. We have a new recruit, and he's not advanced into the system yet. While he's very good, everyone makes mistakes, and we don't need to know of little ones in feedback.-Insder (1/30/05)
Welcome: Please welcome our newest GFA worker, Luigi and Tails. He's contributed numerous things to GFA and submitted an app and such, so I decided to hire him on to GFA. With three people on the workforce, expect the queue to go quickly.-Insder (1/28/05)
Addon.: The spamming was of some random site offering viagra and such. It was like spam emails but with links. Anyway, we are not interested in a GFB2 system, but thank you for the thought-Insder (1/28/05)
For your information: The site may also now be accessed at
http://thegfa.info; the domain has just transferred successfully. Juggling between coursework and my girlfriend, I'll try to get some well-needed work in on the GFA this weekend. In other news, it seems a certain individual has been abusing/spamming the feedback system in an attempt to advertise worthless products and services to myself and Insder.
We are not interested, thanks. (1/28/05)
Success.: After a few days of downtime, GFA has returned. I plan on working with the queue, hopefully with some help, if I can find any. ~_~-Insder (1/27/05)
Attention: Downtime either tommorow afternoon or thursday morning, as I change from this host to better host. Since this host sucks, my domain will probably [definetly>_>] not get transferrred either correctly or on time. So expect GFA to be down. Thanks-Insder (1/18/05)
Queue: I ran through pieces of the queue tonight, did about 50 files, and then got really tired. Hope to get the rest done tommorow.-Insder (1/17/05)
Thank ye, Roaddhogg.: I'd just like to really quickly reiterate what Roaddhogg said. When I get some free time (which will be very soon), we both will run through and finish the queue. It's not laziness, it's the fact that both our lives are quite hectic. Thanks for your patience-Insder. (1/4/05)
2005, and the GFA: Roaddhogg here. I too would like to extend my greetings of a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all GFA visitors. Now, with the formalities out of the way, it is time for me to address the current state of the GameFAQs Archive.
In early November I stated that I would be devoting more of my free time to the GFA; coding new features such as a "Noteworthy" pages section, user contributor pages and whatnot. It was not my intention to make false statements or promises, however, I must concede that I have been unable to fulfil expectations and my own vision of the site. The GFA has admittedly become extremely low-priority in Insder's and my own everyday life; not through bone idleness or laziness as some misguided people have been led to believe; but because we are two normal people with normal hectic lives!
However, I realise and can understand that a number of people are disappointed and/or even angry that the GFA's queue has not been processed once in over a month, and because I have yet to start work on re-developing the site. I must admit I did not anticipate just how much user feedback and contribution we would receive when I launched the Archive, but I do not wish to use my own misjudgement as an excuse for the lack of updates.
I do actually enjoy working on the site and with GameFAQs users; though my social and personal life has become dominant at this particular moment in time, especially given the holiday season and all. Nevertheless, I feel it is time for me my own New Year's Resolution. With school vastly re-approaching, I will somewhat ironically have more free time to surf the internet, and I will use a major proportion of this time to sift through contributions, continue rewriting the code of the site, and bring in a number of new features that you deserve.
With that said, I must clear up a few issues that have recently arisen. Firstly, the link to the User Database has been removed. The webmaster of the site where GFX was once hosted and updated, who apparently has a number of personal issues with myself and/or Insder, placed a simple and somewhat immature PHP script onto his homepage to prevent users "referred" from this site accessing the database, and to possibly fool them into believing that their IP address had been logged and sent to "authorities". This was not the case. Secondly, there is no excuse for ridiculous, offensive, or bogus feedback and/or file submissions. Insder addressed this a few days ago with two users in particular, and I will re-iterate that we do not intend to daemonise anyone by rejecting certain submissions! Whether we reject or accept your files; it is done in what we feel is in the best interests of the site; and is never done so on personal grounds.
Thanks for reading. (1/3/05)
Merry Christmas.: I hope everyone that reads GFA had a happy and safe Christmas.-Insder (12/25/04)
Another little thing.: If you click GameFAQs User Database up top, you're sent to miikrr.com, which USED to host GF User DB, but now just has a fake homepage telling you your IP has been logged and sent to the government. It's a joke. Thanks-Insder (12/19/04)
...: If one more user tries submitting files by linking to them on his hard drive, I'm going to hit something. Hard. Don't do it! (11/24/04)
Karma Boost: Alright, we've all heard of the Karma Boost. I jumped the gun and submitted it myself to stop the impending flood of submissions I expect, all of the same file. Unless you find another topic list flooded with karma boost topics (I've covered CE and MBH), we don't need any more. - Insder (11/24/04)
A couple gripes.: Finished off the queue before it got large again, and mammoth like before. A few gripes. One: When sending GFA something about the GF homepage, do not send us the source. An image is preferred, since the source is fairly complicated. Two: Don't put images in your files, please. I got one today and had to fix it a lot. Three: For the final time, we cannot take suicides that have porn. I've gotten three, maybe you've forgotten this rule. I have to reject them if they have porn links. Thanks-Insder (11/23/04)
Finally...: The queue has been cleared at last; the number of total archived pages has topped 1000, the hits are currently just shy of 200,000, and user submissions have reached 700. Not bad at all. I'll try to start work on the "Noteworthy" section now that all the submissions have been handled. (11/20/04)
RH here: No, I'm not dead, but I am overloaded with work and a whole host of other things to keep me preoccupied at the moment. A month of queue-work needs to be done, and I will try my best to get it all sorted ASAP. Please bare with me again for the while, and make my life easier by not pasting a link to a file stored on your own hard drive... (11/12/04)
Okay.: I cleared about 20 things from the queue, finishing up now. Please do not use external link to link to a GF topic. By the time we get to it, it's modded or purged. Source/Image is preferred, offsite html is fine also. Thanks-Insder. (11/5/04)
Hrm.: While I have been busy, just like Chris, I will make an attempt at tackling part of the queue. Please stop sending CronoGamer stuff. Out of the 93 submissions we have, about 40-50 are CronoGamer stepping down/etc. We don't need anymore, and we probably didn't even need the last 10 sent in. Thanks. (10/30/04)
About the lack of updates: I have been in London the last few days, and evidently no-one has had/found the time to handle the queue; so I'll try and get the site fully updated within the week. (10/28/04)
Important Announcement: I have received quite a large number of complaints regarding content on the site over the last two weeeks, stating that users are fed up with tralling through a lot of "lesser" topics to find even one noteworthy page. I must concede, the original purpose of the Archive was to store only important events in the history of the boards, and not so much account suicides, humourous posts and whatnot.
However, The GFA has evolved into something much more, and in many people's eyes this is not necessarily a bad thing. But I will be looking at alternative means to please all visitors, such as having two sections - a "Noteworthy Pages" portion and a "Full Archive" one.
I am undecided as to which will be the default view for all users, so please leave some feedback with your ideas and thoughts on this. ~ RH (10/25/04)
Queue processed.: I have successfully processed the user submissions queue (with the exception of Exiledfromreality's zip file, which should be posted shortly), and The GFA should now be much more active. Once again, apologies for any inconvenience or annoyance caused by my absence. An announcement should shortly follow on CE. ~ RH (10/11/04)
About Feedback: The queue is really backed up at the moment, and it's quite a lot for one person to handle. Now that Roaddhogg is back, it'll get done quicker, but sending feedback asking to bring back suicides, or put up a page that was submitted and is in the queue is not needed. Thanks. (10/11/04)
I'm back.: Apologies for the lack of updates and any inconvenience caused. With now over 100,000 hits, the GFA appears to be as strong as ever despite my absence. Thanks for all of your continued support, and the submissions queue should be processed within the next few days. ~ RH (10/9/04)
Sorry for the lack of updates: I have taken a short break from the majority of the internet entirely due to personal reasons; therefore existing and new submissions may take a little more time to be actioned depending on which administrator is handling the queue. Sorry for the inconvience caused. ~ RH (9/21/04)
Not really news...: GFA is going very well, but I have a small favour to ask. Please do not choose HTML, then link to a GameFAQs messagelist..Also, I do not need ANYMORE GameFAQs homepage shots. I have 7 already, and they're all HTML (Image is preferred for something like this..since there are many images to be linked to). (9/19/04)
Operation Clean-Up: For numerous reasons, including negative feedback and response from
GameFAQs staff, the GFA will no longer carry account "suicides" that contain illegal links or pornographic material. No suicides should be submitted at all unless they are noteworthy/important. Sorry for the inconvenience caused by this and the downtime. (9/5/04)
Let me run this idea by you...: Contributor recognition pages. This site wouldn't be what it is today without the help and support of the users who have submitted files for use on the GFA. So, I'm planning on setting up contributor recognition pages for each user who submits at least one item to the site. Negatives? I would have to create a registration/login system for security, which would be time consuming and somewhat tedious. Positives? Contributor recognition, user system where many things could be changed and edited, such as the view of the site etc. Let me know what you think, or if you have any ideas of your own via the Feedback page or my topic on CE. Thanks. (8/30/04)
'Links' Page: Thanks to feedback this time from gregreggreg2000, I have created a GameFAQs-related links system where you can view and submit links to be included on the GFA. Few are currently added, so submissions will be appreciated. (8/30/04)
'What's New' Page: As a result of feedback from winterus, we have created a 'What's New' page so that you can view the latest additions to the site. For the next few days it will not be entirely accurate, as we are only recording the submission times of pages from this point onwards, and not existing ones, but in a short period of time it should be functioning correctly. Enjoy! (8/29/04)
Update: We have now successfully restored in total between 50-70% of pages from the Nostalgia Project to the Archive. The total number of files is just shy of 650, which isn't bad at all to say we were on 450 a few days ago! (8/29/04)
Just a quick note: I'm pleasantly surprised at the number of submissions and comments we have received in a short period of time, so I would just like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has viewed the site, left feedback or submitted files. I am currently in the process of adding all salvaged files from ColdFusion's Nostalgia Project (thanks to miikrr x for archiving the archive @_@). (8/28/04)
There is light at the end of the tunnel!: Well, it's taken four of us a total of 4 weeks to get it finally complete, but the GameFAQs Archive is finally reopened. Although on the surface, many things look exactly the same as they were before, but with a conversion to a fully integrated PHP system, it means that we will be able to update the site multiple times a day if needs be.
http://chris.insder.com should remain our permanent location (although the server has been acting up a little recently), though the old URL http://thevga.ath.cx/gfa/ redirects here also. (8/26/04)